The Sports Gods despise zeroes. Undefeated teams. Winless teams. Seeds that have 0 wins here, and franchises that have 0 appearances there. The Sports Gods balance out things so that no single team has all the success-or all the failure. This was in evidence this past weekend. Saturday and Sunday provided historic performances that deleted some of the zeroes from the sports landscape in both college basketball and the NFL.

It all began innocently enough at Madison Square Garden. The St. John's men's basketball team was taking on Pittsburgh (15-0), one of the three remaining undefeated teams in Division 1. St. John's was just 9-6, but coming off a big win over 15th-ranked Louisville. St. John's held Pittsburgh to just 35% shooting, led by 12 at halftime (when they honored 10 of their great coaches and players-the Sports Gods love that), and won by 5, thanks to some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch.

Next, the Sports Gods headed south to Washington, DC, where #1-ranked Duke was looking for its 18th straight win to open the season. Yet another Big East team-Georgetown, who came into the game 11-4-flexed its muscles against an undefeated team. Georgetown shot 61%, led by as many as 16, and held off a furious Duke rally to win by 3.

That left just one unbeaten team: 17-0 Florida, who took the court against 11-3 Tennessee with the Sports Gods sitting courtside for this conference match-up. Florida led by 6 at halftime, but when JaJuan Smith put Tennessee ahead by 1 with 8:46 left in the game, the Sports Gods were all smiles. The lead changed hands four more times, with Florida tying the game at 76 with 48 seconds remaining. A Tennessee steal and basket along with a missed three-pointer by Florida and two Tennessee free throws sealed the game. (Chris Lofton was touched by the Gods on this night, as he scored 29, stole the ball with 48 seconds, and notched the decisive free throws.)

At noon on Saturday three Division 1 college basketball teams had 0 losses. Just a couple hours before midnight, all three zeroes had been erased.

Sunday arrived and the Sports Gods headed west to Denver for the AFC Championship. You want to know why the NFL is the most popular sports league on planet Earth? Turns out the Sports Gods love parity.

The Broncos were undefeated at home this season. Yet another 0 to wipe off the board. The Pittsburgh Steelers knocked off Denver and became just the second team in NFL history to win three straight road playoff games en route to the Super Bowl. Throw in the fact the Jerome Bettis was planning on retiring after the season and that the Super Bowl is in Detroit-his hometown-and there was no way the Sports Gods could sit this one out.

With the Steelers already leading 17-3 and just 1:55 left in the first half, Jake Plummer-who had seemingly turned his career around by throwing just 7 interceptions this season-threw a bad pass down the right sideline that Ike Taylor easily intercepted. The Steelers scored on the drive to extend the lead to 24-3 and book their tickets to the Super Bowl. Plummer and the Broncos found out that the Sports Gods giveth, and the Sports Gods taketh away.

(Just as an aside, when are folks going to learn? It's like Bill Parcells says: "You are what you are." Jake Plummer is Jake Plummer. That's never going to change. Can he win you some games and look like a dangerous weapon at quarterback? Absolutely. Can he carry a team to a Super Bowl? After his performance against the Steelers on Sunday, I think not.)

Their work done in Colorado, the Sports Gods headed off to the great Northwest. There, another team was undefeated at home. But that's not what drew the Gods to this game. After all, lots of teams have run the table at home over the years. No, what drew them to this game was a franchise in need of a lift. A franchise that had never been to the Super Bowl. Never say never, the Sports Gods say.

The Seattle Seahawks went 13-3 this season. They had the best record in the NFC, the MVP of the league in running back Shaun Alexander, and a defense that racked up the most sacks in the league. But the doubters were everywhere. The Sports Gods decided the doubters needed a little comeuppance.

The key play in this one? The moment the Seahawks took the field. In what would prove to be a dreadfully boring game, Seattle dominated from kickoff to final gun. Alexander-coming off a concussion-rushed for 134 yards. The defense forced four turnovers and limited all-world wide receiver Steve Smith to just 5 catches for 33 yards. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was consistent and efficient. You knew this one was over when Hasselbeck completed an impossible-to-catch pass to backup quarterback Seneca Wallace-the first catch of the young man's professional career.

(The Panthers played two great road games to open the playoffs. But their frequent flier miles expired before their trip to Seattle-guess they should have called Capital One. Sure they were down to their 4th-string running back due to injuries and Steve Smith was smothered by the Seahawks defense, but where was the offensive ingenuity in this one? Not once did they hand the ball off to Smith-something they had done four times the previous two games. They never rolled quarterback Jake Delhomme out of the pocket and away from the pressure. They didn't try anything. Everyone knows defense wins championships. But offensive ingenuity can win games. The Broncos and Bengals are sitting at home because of Steelers' offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, and the Panthers joined them after their putrid offensive output against Seattle.)

The Seahawks are off to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. The Steelers became the first #6 seed to reach the Super Bowl-after winning three straight road games against teams who were a combined 38-10. And there are no more undefeated teams in college basketball after a wild Saturday afternoon.

Some day a #16 seed will knock off a #1 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. And the Arizona Cardinals will advance to the Super Bowl. When these monumental events happen, fans will have the Sports Gods to thank. The impossible can happen. Just ask Red Sox and White Sox fans.

www.sportsinacan.com